Hey guys. My airbag light has been on since I bought my 99 ranger almost a year ago and I didn't want to spend major money at the stealership to have it checked out and then whatever it may be would probably cost an arm and a leg so after looking around on here and RF, I was informed that the passenger airbag on/off switch bulb could be burnt out and if it was then the airbag light on the dash will blink and stay on. If you watch your airbag light when it comes on it will flash a series of codes. Mine was 2 flashes, small pause followed by 7 more flashes then a long pause and repeat giving the code 27. This is caused by the burnt out bulb.


I finally got fed up with seeing it come on every time I drove my truck so today I took my ashtray out and there are 4 7mm bolts holding the assembly in the bottom of the dash. Take these 4 bolts out and disconnect the wiring harness to the passenger airbag on/off switch. You will have to use a small flat head screwdriver to carefully pry off the top cover of the black box. Inside there is a small circuit board. Carefully pull that out and you will see a bulb soldered onto the board. You will have to use a soldering iron to take the old bulb out. I purchased a replacement bulb at Radio shack out of the drawers with all the LED bulbs and resistors. Part number and link to product below. You will have to trim the wires down and put them back through the holes in the circuit board and re solder them just like the bulb you pulled out. I could have used an LED but didn't because I did not want to mess with a resistor. You can do this if you are mechanically inclined to do so. Once the new bulb is soldered in just re-assemble and you're done!


You will need the following:

Small flathead screwdriver
7mm wrench and socket
Soldering iron

Part # 272 1141
12v 25mA

12V/25mA Miniature Lamps - RadioShack.com




Onto the pics










Hope this helps someone if they have the same problem!

 

hey man, thanks for this. i just did it and fixed my airbag light. and it took me about 30 minutes from start to finish!

 

My air bag light will flash a series of codes, then stay on. AFTER I have moved my seat forward, then back to it's original location. After the truck is shut off, the code clears itself. go figure.

 

I have a 2000 Ranger are the airbag code the same for the 2000 ranger?

 

Yes

 

I had a similar problem the first year I had the truck and took it into the dealer - apparently there was a TSB related to the problem that had to do with the electrical connectors underneath the seats (driver's and passenger) being prone to moisture and corrosion issues.

Take it apart, clean it out, stuff it with dielectric grease, tape it up really good - that might take care of the problem.

 

I just fixed my airbag light...What great info ... Saved me alot of money ... Thank you Jason

 

Glad it helped you out! Could have cost a ton at the dealer but only cost's a buck 50 and a little soldering lol.

 

I'm doing the same repair on my '02 tonight. Found the repair info elsewhere on the web but thanks for the pics, very helpful.
I bought a 12v LED instead of the bulb. 10,000 hr estimated bulb life. I don't want to do this job again when the bulb inevitably burns out again.

 

Thanks for the tip, just replaced mine !

The little yellow condom from the old bulb slides right onto the new bulb. I also used a little piece of double sided foam tape to hold the new bulb to the circuit board so it wouldn't flop around.

 

My '03 has had airbag light issues for several years now and I know I need to get it fixed I just keep putting it off. After reading the above post about the "flash codes" I went and counted mine. My code is 4,7. Now where do I go to find out what that code corresponds to? When I first got the truck I had an airbag issue b/c one of the wires to the weight sensor in the driver's seat got caught in one of the rails that the seat slides on. Maybe a repeat issue. Oh - and the light on the passenger airbag switch does work so it's not that.

 

just search 03 ranger airbag 47 on google. it'll pop up.

 

If you simply turned your passenger air bag back on wouldn't the code go away? (Electrically disconnects the bulb)

 

Thanks I did and found a link to a list of people with the same issue who posted easy fixes!
If anyone else has this code, try disconnecting the airbag sensor wiring under each seat, clean the connections, and plug them back in. This allegedly will fix 99% of code 47 issues. I have a full day of maintenance planned for this Weds and this is on my list now. Thanks!

 

strange, my airbag light started acting up today. I counted 4 and then what i thought was 6 but probably 7 flashes before it went to solid. I disconnected the battery to reset things and it hasn't come on yet. Maybe i should check out the wires under the seat.

 

mines been on for a while since i went through a ditch last winter (i think thats when it came on) but i believe mines like 3 or 4 flashes a few times in a row...but i don't ever have the attention span to count it all out, if i do i forget right away >.< damned videogames/mt dew.

 

Good info...
You mentioned using an LED.
This can be done using one of the 12 volt LEDs.
These are already setup for 12 volts and no additional resistors are required.

Good write up and pics.

 

BUT... Be careful if you don't know what you are doing, as the system could set the air bags off, even WITH the battery completely disconnected. I have seen this happen, and trust me, it hurts when it goes off and hits a part of you it wasn't designed to hit (ie. shoulder from the side)

 

This info was exactly what I needed. Thank you!

 

Thanks so much for this tip.

 

Just to make it a little easier. The switch can be removed without taking that bracket off.Loosen screws on the gray part of the switch and pull on the back of the gray cover and it will come down, and then proceed from there taking the switch out of the gray part.

 

Was the LED the same installation-wise as the bulb? How much did you pay for it? I have an '02 and after checking my codes and realizing that my light did not come on I will be doing the same thing. Good info on this one.

 

I just wanted to say thank you very much for this write up! Obviously I had the same problem but thanks to contributors like you and others I was able to repair this myself and it was less than $10 for me since I did not have a soldering gun or solder; in fact, this is the first time I have ever soldered anything!

 

Thanks for the tech tip. Replacing the bulb fixed my problem and saved me a bundle.

 

Great tip replaced the bulb. No more irritating air bag light.